Pa-oh (ပအိုဝ့်)

Burmese. Name of an ethnic group in Myanmar, which are also known as Taungthu and Black Karen. With around 600,000 members, they form the second largest ethnic group in Shan State, and as such are sometimes classified as part of the Shan people, though in reality, they are ethnologically and linguistically related to the Karen people. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family of the Sino-Tibetan language group. The traditional dress of women consists of an indigo-dyed or black jacket, often finely trimmed with another colour or hue, and a colourful headscarf which is worn as a turban (fig.). The men traditionally wear an indigo or black jacket and long baggy pants (fig.), akin to the Thai kaangkaeng le (fig.), which are known in Burmese as Shan baun-bi (fig.). In addition, the Pa-oh people usually wear a yahm-style shoulder bag (fig.). Also transcribed Pa O and in Thai also referred to as Pa-oh (ปะโอ). 回